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SundayReflections - 2015-16 (C)
This page contains the full texts of the #SundayReflections for the liturgical year spanning from November 29, 2015 to November 26, 2016. The Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy is in place from December 08, 2015 to November 20, 2016. During that period, the Holy Door of Mercy at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is open; in local places, the Holy Doors of Mercy are open from December 13, 2015 to November 13, 2016. The #SundayReflections are presented in reverse chronological order, with the most-recent at the top. As this is the current year, the texts will be published no later than Thursday of the week that begins with each particular Sunday. The texts first appears on the twitter timeline on the Sunday morning. The full text is posted onto the facebook page a few hours after it appears on twitter. Christmas December 27, 2015: Holy Family The text will be published no later than December 31st. Advent December 20, 2015: Fourth Sunday of Advent "It is by God's will that we are sanctified." In the liturgical movement of Advent, the 4th Sunday seems out of place. The season helps us prepare for the coming of Christ. The 1st two weeks remind us that Christ will come again. The 3rd Sunday marks a turn and helps us keep in mind that the coming celebration of Christmas is to commemorate Christ's first coming at His Nativity in Bethlehem. The 17th of December marks a second turn, and our preparations for Christmas intensifies as the last days of Advent count down. The 4th Sunday is sometimes lost in this movement because it stands outside the cycle of that intensified preparation period. In much a similar way, the common thread between all of today's passages is not so evident. Time and again we have been reminded that the Lectionary is framed with a theme in mind, and that this theme is sometimes very evident especially between the 1st Rdg, the Psalm, and the Gospel. However what we see today, at first glance, is a message lost in the background of the passage from Micah, Psalm 80, the letter to the Hebrews, and the account of the Visitation in Luke. It is perhaps the 2nd Rdg from Hebrews that can unlock some thoughts for our reflection today. This particular passage in Chapter 10 speaks of Christ superseding the bonds of the Law, but it can be better understood as speaking of Christ giving the full meaning of the Law. The prophecy of Micah, which is quoted in part by Matthew in his narrative of the Nativity, hints at the fact that the Law on its own is somewhat incomplete. The labors he speaks of can surely refer to the daily work of the people, perhaps even the toils of experiencing dark and difficult times such as exile. But it can also speak of the works of the Law, the physical and visible requirements of the Law that have been crafted as consequences for breaking the core Commandments. The Law was given as a guide to keep the people mindful of who God is in their existence as individuals and as a Nation. There came a time, however, that the Nation began to take that Law for granted; and it also developed and evolved into something that began to oppress the people. To both these scenarios, the words of the Psalmist give more insight: "Let us see Your face and we shall be saved." The Psalms, next to the Gospels, hold a special place in all of Scripture because they speak for the people. This may have been the prayer of the People who are seeking freedom from the oppression of captivity and exile. But this could also have been the prayer of a People who are seeking freedom from the oppression of the Law. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law. He Himself declared that He does not abolish it but fulfill it, bring it to completion, bring its meaning into full light. And that is why it is fitting that the account of the Visitation is proclaimed. Yes, it is the story of two women who have received great mandates from God; but it is also the 'first meeting' between the Baptist and the Christ. The prophets, of whom the Baptist is the last one, urged the people to return to God and recover the true purpose of the Law. The Christ is the one who gives full meaning to the Law and becomes, in Himself, the definitive revelation of the Law. This is the narrative movement of our 2nd Rdg: The Law is superseded by the Christ, not as a replacement but as a fulfillment. The purpose of the Law is fully recovered and made brilliantly new again with the Incarnation. The Law is not meant to oppress people, and it is not something that can be discarded altogether. The Law enables the People to be always mindful of the greatness of God, and encourages them to be bold in proclaiming God's greatness. The Visitation is an embodiment of this: Mary went with haste to share in the glad tidings of God's power. John the Baptist leaps for joy at the encounter. The presence of God Himself leads the people to a joyful living out of love, care, and compassion. And so as we are ushered by these last few days of Advent, let us take time to reflect of these questions: •Do I view the limitations of religious obligation as oppressive? •What are things in my life that oppress me, from which I need saving? •Do I joyfully recognize the presence of God brought to me by those I encounter? •Am I bringing the presence of God to those I encounter in my everyday life? •Has my Advent journey been a fruitful preparation for Christmas? •Has my Advent journey refreshed my preparation for Christ's 2nd Coming? Christ has come. Christ is coming. Christ will come again. And it is His coming that reveals to us the heart of the will of God. It is to bring about an awakening within us of our true identities as His adopted daughters and sons. We are strengthened in the virtuous life by our relationship with Christ that our genuine humanity shines in the living out of faith, of hope, and of charity. And this is what we mean by holiness. This is what we mean by sanctification. And so, truly, "it is by God's will that we are sanctified." December 13, 2015: Third Sunday of Advent "And all were filled with expectation…" On this Gaudete Sunday, we make the first of two turns that the Advent Season has in its movement. The liturgy of the Church invites us to turn to the nearness of the Birth of Christ - the one we commemorate of His Nativity in Bethlehem, but also the one we strive to fill our lives with every single day. Today's Collect speaks of this so eloquently when it describes us as people who "faithfully await the feast of the Lord's Nativity," asking for the continued ability for "solemn worship and glad rejoicing." When we look at our society and our world today, it seems that the Christmas Season has become an escape - something to take our minds off the darkness that is around us. When we watch or read the news there is a clear split between so-called serious stories of crime, violence, and danger contrasted with some 'light-hearted' pieces about the giving with which this time of year is so often marked. But why do we separate them? Should we even separate them at all? Perhaps the readings of today's liturgy can help us answer these questions. The prophet Zephaniah, like Isaiah, Baruch, Jeremiah, and other prophets was preaching the revelation of God to the People of Israel mired in difficult times. The nation was in crisis: aside from losing land to invading states, the government of the time was deeply entrenched in corruption and idolatry. In a true sense, God was no longer at the center of their lives - a large removal from their origins as the very chosen People of God whose existence is precisely for the proclamation of His sovereignty over all. But in the midst of all this, he urges the people to "rejoice and exult with all your heart!" He tells the people why: because "the Lord, your God, is in your midst." When quite literally the world turns its back on God, we are called and invited by His love not to do the same. Even more we turn to Him as the source of all that is good, as the source of all light that can banish the darkness away. God's way is creation, and creation by means of love. Anything that destroys, that hurts, that seeks fault is not from Him. In the Responsorial, we echo this message in the words of the prophet Isaiah: "Cry out with joy and gladness," we say, "for among us is the great and Holy One!" We renew our great joy at the fact that the Lord, for whom we await, is already near and dear to us. Our very desire to wait for Him and encounter Him is already an experience of His presence. This is how much the Lord pervades our existence, that He even surpasses our notion of waiting. And indeed He does surpass all understanding. The confidence that St Paul exhibits in our 2nd Rdg today on the constant presence of God in our lives leads us to accept His invitation to "rejoice in the Lord always." One can imagine the people of ancient Philippi puzzled at these words. Yes, the message of the Jesus Christ is great and strong, but in the face of hardship and persecution how can one rejoice? Because "the Lord id near," Paul says. And the closeness of our God to us all allows us not to worry about anything, but instead moves us to give thanks for everything. And it is also in this gratitude that we can proclaim His presence to others. When we are thankful for what we have, we appreciate what we do not have. And we fill what is missing, in a way, in each other's lives. This is what John the Baptist tells the people who came to him. The message of the Gospel is the same for all: but it comes to us in our own situation. Jesus comes to us where we are; and so we use our strengths to help welcome Him in our weaknesses. And as we do this then our lives will be filled with a joyful hope, a blessed longing for the fullness of the Lord's glory to be revealed to us all. We are filled with expectation. The people in the Gospel were filled with expectation that the Messiah would bring an end to all the problems of this life. And that is precisely what Jesus did, in a way so unexpected that even we sometimes forget the power of His love: Our God is near to us. Our God is so near to us that His presence is made known through our very lives if we are open and receptive enough for Him. (And indeed it is fitting that we rejoice that the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy begins on this day for the whole Universal Church, in communion with the Church of Rome. We open wide the Holy Doors of Mercy across the entire world as a sign that the experience of God's loving mercy is showered upon us. The only thing we need do is to welcome it into our lives, be immersed in it, and then share it with others, too.) And so we ask ourselves today: •Am I open and willing to praise God and exult in joy? •Am I thankful for what I have and appreciative of what I do not have? •Am I using my strengths to aid the weakness of others? •Am I letting others use their strengths to aid my weakness? •Is my longing for God's mercy evident in my life by means of a joyful hope? The celebration of our Lord's Nativity is fast approaching. His return in glory is also approaching, even though it may not seem like it. Amid the darkness of this world there is a glimmer of hope that all is not lost. It is in our weakness that He strengthens us, it is in the darkness that His light shines. And so, indeed, we are all "all filled with expectation." December 06, 2015: Second Sunday of Advent "…The one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ." The framers of the Lectionary, those assigned to use the guidance of the wisdom of Holy Mother Church, used a pairing of themes to determine the Gospel and the 1st Rdg of the day. The Responsorial Psalm or Canticle usually follow that theme, and gives voice to some of our yearnings on that theme. The 2nd Rdg, however, is peculiar for it does not necessarily follow or all into that theme. We start our reflections this way on this weekend for a particular reason. While many would rightly and justly look at today's introduction of John the Baptist in Luke's narrative and how he echoes the prophecies of Baruch and Isaiah, the selection from Paul's letter to the Philippians runs the risk of being passed over. The Letter to the Philippians is such a rich book of the Bible for it contains some of the most powerful passages in scripture. This, of course, is not to deny the richness found in all of scripture. Today's passage tells so much of Paul as a pastor: a man who cares for the people who look to him as a spiritual father. It comes from the beginning of the letter, which may have been written to 'check up on' the community of faith after Paul had moved on to visit and found other Christian communities. It is a letter meant to strengthen the people and edify them in their Christian identity and mission. And so it was for the people of the Church in Philippi. And likewise it is for us a passage to strengthen and edify us. It is in this manner that it is fittingly proclaimed on the 2nd Sunday of Advent this year. Advent is indeed a season of waiting for the coming of Christ - remembering the time of His 1st coming and looking forward to His 2nd coming. And it is a reminder for us that the Word is made flesh anew through our own lives. Indeed, we share in the Gospel. Hope is instilled in each one of us when the Good News of the love of God touches our lives. There is a sense of a new beginning for us all when we look to His compassion for us. And we try to embrace that compassion every single moment of every single day. When we examine our days we no doubt realize that the best moments are those when genuine love was present, when we genuinely had an experience of joy and peace, however small they may be. It is in those small moments that we are reminded that Christ's Incarnation lives on with us. In other words, it is in those moments when our sharing in Christ's very identity and mission becomes real. We can claim to be His followers - but if it does not show in our lives, even for just a moment, then those claims are futile. And so Paul's prayer for the Christians of Philippi is also our prayer for ourselves and for each other: "That your love may overflow more and more… to help you determine what is best… so that you may be pure and blameless." This is what it means to "prepare the way of the Lord" and to "make straight His paths." This is what it means to declare every valley to be exalted, and to make every hill made low. It is to break down the barriers to the love of God in our lives. It is to examine ourselves to see if we put those barriers up, or if we just accepted them. Let us, then, take some time to ask ourselves: •Am I preparing the way of the Lord in my life? •Do I treasure the Good News that I bear? •Do I look forward to times when I can share the Good News? •Am I aware of times when I don't or can't share the Good News? •How receptive am I to the compassionate works of God in and around me? The Lord indeed has done great things for us. Indeed we are to be glad. The Psalmist helps us declare this. But in that declaration we need to be aware that these great things are invitations for us to share His graciousness with those we encounter. We try, we journey, we hope. "…The one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ." November 29, 2015: First Sunday of Advent "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all." Happy New Year! It may seem like an odd greeting in our world today but it is every bit as appropriate for us today. We begin the new liturgical year of the Church; it marked with solemn feasts, periods of preparation for those feasts, and extensions of those feasts. We enter the Season of Advent, a period of preparation for Christmas. And yet the journey of Advent is not just the time in these next four weeks. And the readings on this first day of the liturgical year center around this idea. In our 1st Rdg, Jeremiah declares that "the days are surely coming… when Lord will fulfill the promise He made." The promise spoken of here is the promise of deliverance and salvation. The People of Israel have been suffering through a very tumultuous period; some are struggling to hold onto any sort of hope, others have began to lose it altogether. But the Lord's presence is still made known in those dark times, and He sent the young prophet Jeremiah to proclaim His message. The promised salvation came: Israel was restored and Jerusalem the capital was rebuilt after destruction. But still the world waited for the promised salvation from the realities of sin and death. We know and we believe that this promise has been fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ. By the Incarnation, the Passion, and the Resurrection, He has shown His dominion; and He has won every victory including over sin and death. He has left us a memorial of His sacrifice and a community of faith that perpetuates His presence until the close of the age. And then He will come again in glory to renew all creation, where all sin and suffering will be no more. In one movement our God has bridged the gap between destruction, restoration, and recreation. In that movement we connect the Eschaton to the yearly celebrations of Easter and Christmas. Advent is not just a time of waiting and preparing for Christmas, though it is right and just that we do; but we are reminded today that we are in the state of Advent, waiting and preparing for the glorious return of our saving and loving God. In our Gospel passage today Our Lord, after warning of the "fear and foreboding" that will come, reminds us: "Be on guard that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life." And this is not a time of sitting around waiting for that day whenever that may come, because no one knows when it would except the Father. This, instead, is a time when we can anticipate the coming of the new Kingdom by the very lives that we lead. We first acknowledge, as the Psalmist helps us do, to center our very being around the fact that our God is close to us. He wants to love us, and He wants us to be loved by Him. He makes His ways known and teaches us His paths. And this leads us, as St Paul says in his letter, to ask for a strengthening of our hearts in holiness. We learn how we ought to live ans to please God. And we should do so more and more. And so as we begin this new year, let us take the time to pause and reflect on these things: •What am I preparing for during this Advent Season? •How am I preparing for it during this Advent Season? •What are those that weigh my heart down? •Who are those that can help me remove that weight? •Am I one that helps others remove what weighs them down? The liturgical year is a reminder for us all of the life of Christ: His promised coming, His birth, His ministry, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His promised return. It is a reminder for us that we, as His followers, are sharers in His mission. In our own lives we are called to be like Him: He is born in our hearts and in our homes. This is the message that Advent wishes for us to take heed as we begin the new year of the Church. also look forward to the coming Jubilee Year of Mercy. Let us rejoice at this great gift for the Universal Church, and let us pray with Pope Francis that it "may be a year of grace from the Lord, and [His Church, with renewed enthusiasm," may be His visible face in this world.] And so we let St Paul's own prayer for us be our prayer too: "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all."